The Anchor Brothers: The Great Search

Thanks guys. i hope I depicted the mountains accurately.

Now to get on the next chapter.

ch.10

Far across the land, from within the deepest Northeastern Felaryan jungles, a human facility was situated. Being a high tech marvel, the humans inside were all armed to their teeth. The base structure which the humans operated in was colored in a camouflage style, leaving little to no evidence of there being a human encampment here. All those within stayed close to the facility went about their operations, until a warning signal sounded off to all of them. In seconds the humans had retreated inside the base, awaiting the arrival of a mechanical orb, which hovered down and infront of the base. Behind it a massive harpy followed. It was the dangerously unstable Gisor, a harpy that was quick to keep up with the orb, having followed it in return for being promised anything he desired. Gisor landed with a gentle flap of his wings infront of the facility, startling the humans who did not retreat inside quick enough. Despite Gisor's desire to crush and/or eat these humans, he held back and awaited instructions from the orb.

"Alright, you weird ball thing. I followed you to this place. Now what do we do?"

The mechanical orb transmitted a command code to the main gates, opening the doors of the facility, which was just big enough for Gisor to fit in, and proceeded inside.

"Follow me inside. I will meet you personally."

This was good news to Gisor.

"Finally. No more talking to a flying ball."

As the orb went inside, Gisor crawled in with him, retracting his wings so he would fit. It was a tight fit for him, but at this point, he just wanted to meet the owner of this orb. The humans in the base scurried out of the way as fast as possible to avoid being run over by this predator, whose odd shufflings on the unfamiliar metal floor didn't help his stability at all. At one point the floor tilted downward, leading to the basement of the facility, and without anything to grab onto, Gisor slid down in a clumsy manner. Sadly, he was not small enough to utilize the escalators as the humans did.

"AGHH! What kind of madhouse is this?!"

The orb merely kept gliding through the air.

"Well, pardon me. I don't have predators visit this compound every day. How am I to know you would slip around like an idiot on roller skates?"

It wasn't too far in thankfully when Gisor finally reached the end of the pathway, straightening himself up on level ground. His patience was slowly running out, seeing a few humans around him chuckle in response to his awkward movement.

"Alright, ball! I've had enough of you leading me around here! I'm not about to be the laughing stock of these stupid humans! This better be the end of the trail!"

The orb then reached a large dome underneath the human base, leading Gisor to it.

"Oh, rest assured, this is the end of the tour."

Within this massive structure, Gisor was actually able to stand up without restraint, and even relax his wings. For him, it was quite a relief. He looked around and marveled that the humans could create such a dome, which was nearly 150 feet high. The orb then reappeared infront of him.

"Ah, do you like the accommodations Gisor? This is where I conduct business."

He shrugged.

"It's no harpy nest. But I guess it will do."

"Excellent. By the way, there is someone I would like you to meet. She is here for the same reason you are."

The orb then approached a door and unlocked it, revealing the contents behind it. There was a large naga, with white hair and runes over her body, lying on an operating table. Humans were working on her left and right, making sure to fix any damage that she had underwent. It was Laureen's mother, who had miraculously survived her previous battle! Her appearance, despite her age, was still one of seducing beauty, leaving Gisor to ponder on her curves.

"Wow! That is some fine piece of ass on that table. Who is she?"

"She is an elder that leads an entire diamond naga tribe. She despises Anchus and Anchorus like you do, and with you and her working together, those accursed brothers will be destroyed."

"You don't say? She's got a good taste in people who deserve to die. I like her already. hehehe"

The orb then went to a charge station and powered down.

"Now, she will wake up soon, so I think it's the perfect time to show you my real face..."

Gisor turned his head in the direction of the orb when hearing this, but found that it no longer moved. Before he could ask, though, a massive door opened infront of him, and inside was a tube filled with green liquid. In it, a being could barely be made out, but it was robotic in appearance and similar to Anchus and Anchorus. It's body was broken up and most of it's limbs were torn, circuits just barely connecting them. The only thing that was truly intact was the head, as it's eyes glowed red and glared at Gisor, who was paralyzed from this look.

"Now you see why I hate the Anchor Brothers as well. They did THIS to me...."

All that Gisor could muster was a small question.

"W-who are you? W-what are you?!"

Within the tube echoed the words of the machine.

"I am Anchodamus.... My sole purpose... is to destroy those two failures... by any means necessary..."

The plot thickens even more. Nice work. Also, little tip, an eponymous character is the character the title is named after. Like in Mega Man, the Blue Bomber is the eponymous character.

Hmm... you're right. I mixed up my vocab there. Lemme fix that.

Thanks for the point out Sean.

ohhh Anchodamus ? Man it's sure getting spicy

So Anchodamus still isn't rebuilt?

Hmm, he must be planning on a really epic new body.

I apologize if this is slightly late. I hope you don't mind.

Anyway, here's the next chapter.

______

ch.11

With a spear to Anchorus's back, Jenny marched the brothers deeper into the cavern, eventually leading them into an underground Pyrale Network. Anchorus as usual did not know how to react to the situation.

"what are you doing?! We've done nothing wrong! Right Anchus?"

Anchus didn't wanna make any sudden movements on his brother's shoulder, since the spear was being pointed to him every so often.

"That's right Anchorus. I fail to see what you're bringing us in for."

Jenny pricked them in the back.

"Keep moving!"

As they proceeded, Jenny eventually began clearing things up.

"Laureen just so happens to be a distant friend of mine. And about two months ago she came to me an absolute mess."

Sparking the tip of her spear against the wall, she lit a gargantuan plant on fire, using it as a torch, before resuming her pricking of the brothers in the back with it.

"Something happened to her, and she mentioned a man made of metal being part of the problem. So naturally, I don't exactly trust you."

Anchorus soon realized she was talking about his and Anchus's brother, Anchodamus, who had tried to kill them all before.

"Wait! You gotta believe me! It's a misunderstanding here. We're not the metal men she spoke of in that bad light!"

She sighed.

"Keep moving. We'll let Laureen figure that out."

They eventually went above ground temporarily, as Jenny directed them towards a second cavern in the distance. The brothers marched on, and along the way they saw a group of small flying bugs approach them. They appeared harmless, but Jenny swiped at them with the fiery plant, deterring them. Anchorus could only question this action.

"What did you do that for? Those moths didn't seem too harmful."

Jenny pitifully laughed.

"You really don't know anything, do you? Those were Ferrous moths! If they had gotten near you, they would've eaten your metal carcasses from the inside out. And I can't have that happening. At least not until later..."

Both Anchus and his brother gulped hearing this, but Jenny pushed them forward.

"Now let's head into the caves before I decide to let them devour your metal to the bone now."

Again they both gulped in worry as they went back down into the caverns. Jenny seemed extremely serious, and the brothers knew better than to tempt her...

Another trek through the dark caves finally led the three of them to a large underground cavern, housing multiple iguana women much like Jenny. They stared at the brothers and Anchus could practically sense the same animosity towards them. Jenny didn't waste time saying hello to her relatives and brought them into the inner catacombs, until they finally reached a hallway with one single outing in it. Near it was another familiar face. Namely, A naga with her hair in a braided pattern with skin darker and more tan than most other nagas, along with her yellow colored naga scales. The brownish-red in her eyes welled up upon looking inside the room, and she couldn't bare to look in any more. The brothers recognized her instantly.

"G-Ginelle?! She's here too?"

Ginelle heard them from across the cavern and looked at them, tears in her eyes.

"You two?! What are you doing here? Jenny, how did you find them?"

Jenny shook her head.

"That doesn't matter. I brought them here hoping Laureen could shed some light on them. Has she woken up yet?"

"I'm afraid not. She's.... still afflicted."

Anchorus seemed confused.

"Afflicted? With what?"

Ginelle slithered back and left the entrance unobstructed.

"I think you should... see for yourself..."

She slithered aside to let Anchorus see what she meant. When he peeked in, he was met with a sight that forever struck him to the core with shock. On the floor was Laureen herself, passed out and in utter pain. There was something different about her though. Her teeth had evolved to fangs which grew sharper every instant, her hair was partially mutated and fleshy, showing signs of being grafted to her back, forming what appeared to be the hood found on a cobra. Her human portion was covered in more scales than before, and her fingernails were extended outward a minimum of five meters. The patterns on her naga tail changed to symbols that indicated the poison that was building up in her blood. Lastly, her clenched eyes conveyed the pain she was feeling as if this transmutation was unbeareable on her. Worse off, despite the various other predators surrounding her, few knew how to lessen the pain, let alone help her. They were then stunned as Anchorus stormed into the room and knelt down beside her.

"Laureen! W-What's happened to you?! What's wrong?!"

Being in a comatose state, she could not respond.

"Damnit, say something! Please!"

Following behind him was Jenny, who looked saddened to see she still wasn't awake.

"So you girls haven't found a way to get her up yet?"

The various beings surrounding Laureen's body shook their heads. Jenny sighed as she kneeled at her side.

"Alright, you metal golems. Listen up. I think I should tell you what happened, but don't think I trust you yet."

The brothers nodded and sat down.

"When Laureen visited me last time, she told me she was having a horrible issue with her mother. It sounded like a nightmare at her home. I naturally gave her reassurance that she may come here anytime there's trouble at home. We have been friends since our younger days.... but then, a few months later, I was out from the Pyrale Mountains doing a bit of scouting when I found Laureen, passed out and near the beach. She was partially in this state, and was covered in blood, some of it not even hers! We can only assume her raging instincts forced her towards the beaches, trying to satiate this odd lust for blood she has, because when I woke her up, she attacked me! Next to her I found this naga, Ginelle."

Ginelle looked to the ground and remained motionless.

"I... I tried to stop her, but she didn't even recognize me. When she started changing... I felt so useless... I just,...."

Again Laureen clenched the ground, feeling an excrutiating pain as jagged spikes erupted from her spine and through her skin, becoming poisonous barbs. The various women around her put Laureen on her side to lessen the pain, or at least they hoped to. Anchorus all the while could barely stand to hear any more.

"Enough of this! Please, isn't there anything you girls can do?! I thought you had herbal remedies or potions or magic or anything!"

Anchus scoffed under his breath.

"Yes, because a bunch of human-snake freaks performing magical parlor tricks will make all your problems go away. Why don't we pull a rabbit out of a hat while we're at it? And then mayb-"

Anchorus rudely interrupted him.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING BROTHER!"

This was enough to get Anchus to back off.

"A-Alright Anchorus. No need to lose your temper. But in all seriousness, I doubt this is something the creatures here can cure, or they would've cured it already. Am I correct?"

Placing his gaze upon the other iguana women, they all nodded with him, Jenny included.

"The humanoid golem is correct. We don't have anything to handle this. Hell, we don't even know what it's called. The best we've been able to do is null her pain, but that's it."

With a thought quickly arriving to her, Jenny got up and looked outside towards the exit of the cavern.

"However, there is someone that might be able to help you.To the West of here, inbetween the Mycoria and Sunken Forests, is where an old shaman lives. Laureen told me he worked with her family for years, so perhaps he could shed some light on this."

Again, Anchus looked at the idea and chuckled.

"So basically, we have to traverse the forest again to meet someone else who just happens to know about Laureen, and he'll give us a magical cure for this. At this point I don't expect anything else. I feel like this is some type of badly written fanfiction."

Anchorus, however, gave an angry gaze to his smaller brother, before grabbing him and standing up.

"I don't care what you think about it Anchus. If that guy has some chance of helping Laureen, then I'm taking it."

He motioned to the iguana women.

"Promise to keep Laureen safe and I'll head to the shaman. I promise I'll do anything if it will help her."

Though Jenny still did not trust them fully, her options were empty.

"Alright, very well. I have to stay here and help Laureen anyway, so you two go to the shaman and find out something about Laureen's condition."

As the brothers headed to the exit, Jenny interrupted them one last time.

"But so help me, if you double cross us and high tail it away from here, I will find both of you and brutally MURDER YOU. Got it?"

They both nodded nervously and sped out the cavern, aware of their new objective: to find the shaman who lived nearby...

Ze plot thickens even more. I r hooked. I half-expected Anchus to say that it sounded like a tedious fetch quest or something.

I was tempted to put that in Sean, but I didn't want the fourth wall in pieces. The story needs it so that the roof doesn't cave in on the plot. XD

ohh a very unexpected turn of event here ^^ and a dificult situation to deal with too. To have found Laureen but without getting her back..
and yay for busting the 4th wall XD

Another chapter is finaly here. Please enjoy it. ^^

_____



ch.12

Despite the anguish Anchorus felt over Laureen's condition, he and his brother were relieved in the least that they were departing the chaotic Pyrale Mountains for the moment. The insane magnetic properties soon waned the farther away they got. just to be safe however, Anchorus crawled on his robotic stomach and grasped the ground so he would not be thrusted into the air by the magnetic forces which pushed against him; all the while Anchus held onto his brother to avoid a similar fate. Said crawling continued for miles and no doubt made them look very stupid, until the atmosphere change at least. THe surroundings transitioned from a rocky exterior to a jungle themed environment in a pinch, and they could now behold a gloomy wetland all around them. Anchorus got onto his feet and tredged through the sludge and vegetation which littered the ground, as Anchus accessed their holocube.

"Hmm.... we've been moving for about a few miles, so I take it this area is... let's see... well, it's not the Pyrale system anymore. Thank goodness."

Anchorus nodded.

"Yeah. i'm glad for that."

"Right... anyway, according to the cube... ah! This is the Mycoria Region."

Anchorus turned to his brother, yet continued walking.

"How can you tell, Anchus?"

"Easy, Anchorus. Just look at all the mushrooms."

All around them were lone trees which stood proudly, traveling upwards at almost unimaginable altitudes. They were covered in entire colonies of fungi, from algae to mushrooms and enough moss to cover a Felaryan Football Field. Anchorus avoided these trees as best as possible, for their roots dug into the soil which was saturated in what could only be assumed to be a stagnant juice of pond scum and slime. Some of the slime even jiggled and moved! These were common "Oozes" predators which usually hid in wait for human prey, though thankfully posed little threat to the robotic brothers so long as they kept a distance. Unfortunately, one obstacle they could not bypass was the strange air which stood around them. Spores by the millions remained suspended around them and piled up on Anchorus as he traveled through them. For a brief moment the spores actually blinded his optic sensors, prompting Anchus to dig into their inventory and retrieve a windshield wiper, which he used to clean off the spores off of his brother's mechanical eyes, which were thankfully made using stain-free glass.

"Thanks for helping out Anchus. All these spores are so annoying."

"Hey, it's the least I could do big guy. After all, I don't want you tripping and falling like you've done last time, or the time before that."

Anchorus chuckled.

"Well, don't worry about that brother. I assure you I won't be doing any of that anym-WAHH!"

As expected, as soon as Anchorus stopped paying attention, his foot tripped over a huge mushroom sprouting on the ground, causing him to nearly lose balance. At the last second he regained his footing, placing his metal palm onto a tree. When Anchorus straightened himself out, he wiped his palm against a clean patch of grass to remove the moss on his hand.

"Yuck, I'm gonna need a new paint job after this."

Anchus nodded to the statement.

"You and me both brother. You and me both."

Deeper and deeper they went into the Mycoria Forest, and on the way they noticed patches of moss and mushrooms moving of their own accord. Unbenownst to them, said "patches" were actually the backs of Moss Basilisks, decent sized lizards housing vegetation and algae on their backs, which moved in retaliation to the footsteps Anchorus made. Some simply scurried off to find another place to rest, while others edged closer to the Seventy foot robotic behemoth. One got too close and spooked Anchorus, forcing him to act on his own programming instinct, kicking it away into a nearby tree. The rest saw this and scurried back, wishing to avoid a similar fate. The brothers did not wish to cause a commotion, so they continued onward.

"Those moss lizard things really creep me out Anchus."

Anchus patted his brother's large shoulder.

"Do not fret big guy. The Feeling is mutual. The mossy camouflage makes them difficult to see, so try not to step on any of them, and for the sake of our Motherboard, please do not kick any more of them unless they actively attack. They look like aggressive beasts."

Indeed did Anchorus heed this advice, for he was careful not to step on any moving patches of moss. Unfortunately, the ground ahead appeared to be made of nothing but moving moss, so Anchorus had to pick and choose his movements with EXTREME prejudice. Among other movements, he twirled, swerved, leaped, and even tip toed past all the moss. It looked like for the most part he was in the clear, except for his last footstep, which appeared to be heading right ontop of a piece of moving fungus. Before it did, a voice shouted out from the background.

"HOLD IT!"

Anchorus froze on one foot, his brother scouting the area.

"whoa, who said that? Is there someone out there?!"

"At first, Anchus didn't see anything nearby but a tree covered in mushrooms, until the mushrooms cleared up, revealing the human portion of a dryad, who had fungi growing all over her form. She looked down at the brothers and delivered a booming warning.

"You two better watch out! You're about to step on one of the Fungoïds!"

As they looked down, Anchus noticed that these patches of moving moss weren't moss Basilisks like before, but were actually small people who had forms composed of fungus. They all scurried back to the roots of the dryad who spoke to them. Anchorus put his foot down after it was all clear and breathed in relief.

"I didn't see them, miss Dryad. I'm so sorry. We're new to this area."

The dryad coughed.

"Erhem, that's 'Mycodryad' to you outsiders. And can I help you with something, because you're interrupting us."

Anchus got out his holocube and cleared his vocal box.

"Yes, we're looking for the border between the Mycoria Forest and Sunken Forest. Would you happen to know where that is?"

She shrugged.

"I'm afraid not. I don't get out much. My Fungoïd friends, however, might be of assistence."

She then looked down and spoke to them in an odd dialect. They shook their heads and climbed her body, reaching up to eye level with Anchus. He extended his hand out to the Fungoïds which had the holocube, and oddly enough, they were very knowledgable regarding it. They studied the map it portrayed precisely and spoke the directions to the Mycodryad.

"Ah... my friends here say you just need to head Southwest a few miles, and you'll know when you've hit it. They also say to watch out, since it is called the 'Vertical Forest'."

Anchus and Anchorus were baffled that these small creatures could know so much, but thanked them anyway as Anchus put away the holocube and his brother turned to the appropriate direction and headed off.

"Thank you miss MicroDryad. We appreciate your help!"

She sighed.

"Anytime... and it's pronounced 'MYCOdryad'. Get it right!"

Anchorus took a fast paced stride through the rest of the Mycorian Swamp-forest and made sure not to slow down for anything. As fast as it began, the surrounds started changing again. This time it was slightly more gradual, for the trees Anchorus passed started showing fewer and fewer mushrooms about them, and the ground firmed up. The Moss deeper into the forest cleared up and the air, previously having an orange tint, returned to it's normal dark hue. Anchus could finally put away the windshield wiper.

"Phew. Finally, the air has become less of an obstacle."

His big brother smiled along with him. He shut and open his optic lenses to clean what was left on them away.

"Yeah. No more of that uncomfortable wiper thing on my eyes. Anyway, can you check the map bro? I think we should be close to the 'Sunken' Forest about now."

As Anchus laid back, he got out the holo map.

"Hmm... according to this, we should be juuust about there."

"Really? I hope so. I just wanna know what those Fungoïd guys meant when they called it the 'vertical forest'...."

Not a minute after saying this, Anchorus put his foot infront of him and noticed the ground was lighter. He then put his other foot down and noticed the ground was lighter there as well. Anchorus stopped to investigate this oddity but couldn't think over the crashing of water behind him.

"oh hey! A waterfall. I didn't think they had those here."

Anchus put away the map to look at it.

"Yeah. Though it's odd. Aren't we already at ground level?"

The two then realized what was happening and gazed down. The ground felt lighter because there WAS NO GROUND! They had comedically stayed up in the air without knowing it, though by looking down they sealed their fate. The brothers looked at eachother, and then back at the chasm below.

"Hey Anchus?"

"Yeah, Anchorus?"

"I think I know why they called this the Vertical Forest!!!"

The both of them then plunged into the abyss, trying and failing to grasp onto any ledge they could find but to no avail. And worse yet, there seemed to be no bottom, so down they plummeted....

That was a nice chapter ^_^
I really enjoyed the description of Mycoria forest . And that last scene.. is that a classic tex avery moment you are describing there ? XD

why yes it is. A good pal recommended i throw a reference to him somewhere.

Next chapter down below

__________

ch.13

Anchorus, as he plummeted to what he thought would be his doom, grasped onto the side of the vegetation just in time to try and keep from falling, barely being able to grab a massive entanglement of vines. Anchus held on as well for dear life, as they looked around and noticed their alien surroundings.

"Anchus, how does a place even grow like this? This place doesn't make any sense! My logic sensors hurt...."

His brother attempted to keep a level head, but felt the same.

"Well, it's Felarya Anchorus. After a year or two I expected you to just stop trying to apply logic here. Anyway, all we know about this place is that it's a forest and a chasm combined. Let's try to make the best of it. Now, can you climb back up?"

Anchorus attempted to grab another portion of the vine, but it began tearing.

"I don't think it can support our weight Anchus... Infact, it's starting to rip!"

There was nary a thing for them to do but scramble to find a solution and fast, when out of the corner of Anchorus' eye he noticed a massive blooming mushroom growing out of the side of a hollowed out tree. It looked big enough to even support him.

"Anchus, look over there! That looks to be big enough. Maybe I can shimmy over there and-"

The ripping of the vines cut him off, making Anchus sweat oil.

"Anything is better than those vines ripping brother. Make it happen!"

He held on as Anchorus started shifting his weight. Every shift loosened the vine more and more, so they had to make this count. One last swing left the vine on a bare thread, so Anchorus timed it then. He swung over to the right, just as the last bit of vine snapped, his arms outstretched to grab the mushroom. With a large PLOP noise Anchorus just barely managed to grab the side of the shroom, being quick to dig in deep and claw his way up, right as Anchus got on the mushroom and assisted his very heavy brother up. Through a bit of effort, they both safely got ontop of the blooming fungus and laid back.

"Phew. Thanks for the help Anchus. Talk about a close call."

"Anytime, you big lug. I don't wanna lose my primary means of transportation after all."

They barely even bothered to move, instead opting to rest their systems for a bit, all while taking in the surroundings around them. The forestry upon the walls was far different from the forests before, and left both brothers with chills down their backs. Another concern they felt was the matter of how they would escape this pitfall of a forest, but decided to leave that issue for later.

"So Anchus, how close do you think we are from the place?"

Anchus pulled out the holo cube and perused through it.

"According to those directions from the Fungoids, we should be right near it."

When they looked at the wall where the mushroom was growing out of, they noticed a hole in it, big enough for Anchorus to move through. Inside said hole was the signs of activity, however, as two red glowing eyes popped out from the darkness and stared at the two brothers, who saw this and exercised caution.

"Anchus.... I think someone's looking back at us..."

"Keep quiet Anchorus... hopefully it's not hostile..."

The red eyes crept closer to the brothers, soon looming over them on a figure which stomped out onto the mushroom, which shook. The figure was what appeared to be a magically animated golem composed of several mossy rocks, being just as tall as Anchorus, but much more shapely. Anchus, Anchorus, and the golem stared at eachother for what seemed like forever, not knowing what to do, until a voice from within the void of the tree trunk interrupted the silence.

"Jeeves! Where are you? I need you to set some tea for later!"

The golem turned and responded to this voice by grinding some of it's core rocks together, cobbling up what could be inferred to resemble a low pitched growling noise to which the voice responded to.

"What's that? We have guests? Well, bring them in rockhead!"

Bearing these orders obediently, the golem turned and did it's best interpretation of a curtsy, before introducing the brothers inside. They did not question how weird the situation was and simply went along with it, hoping the hospitality would benefit them. When the brothers reached inside the dark tree trunk, they found that once they got far enough in, the golem lifted up a heavy curtain made of moss, revealing a well lit dwelling, complete with apparel all made from either moss or bark from the tree. The fancy surrounds actually fooled them for a moment, making them forget they were iin a rotting trunk. The golem went inside one of the hollowed out rooms of said dwelling while they adjusted to this, before returning with a small being atop its head. Though humanoid, the being's skin was green, his feet were webbed, his fingers were boney and extended beyond the length of normal human appendages, while the eyes gave an eerie vibe to the brothers, despite him being quite a distance from them. This "person" was a humanized frog in actuality and, standing up from his crouching position to introduce himself, he extended his elongated tongue in a unique and slightly disturbing greeting.

"Greetings. Welcome to my shop of mystery. How can I help you today?"

The brothers looked confused, then turned to the frog man. Anchus took a stance and threw his gaze at the frog like being, clearing his vocal box to speak.

"Uh, yeah, we were looking for a shaman that is supposed to live here. Do you know him?"

The fellow chuckled.

"I'm the only shaman that lives here to my knowledge. The name is Frogoboscus. And this is my servant, Jeeves. Say hello Jeeves."

The golem extended one of it's rocky appendages to the brothers, which Anchorus shook to show a sign of welcome. Frogo then ordered Jeeves into a sitting position while he himself crouched back down.

"So what brings you weird metal golems to my part of the woods? Have you come looking for a new master? Cause jeeves here could always use more company and I could always use more help."

The brothers shook their heads, Anchus taking the position to state what they planned.

"I'm afraid that isn't what we're here for. You see, we were hoping to infer about one of your earlier clients and..."

He held one of his webbed hands up almost instantly.

"Hold up one sec bud. I don't reveal client information to strangers. My good name as a shaman is backed up by my customer reliability."

Anchorus then stood up.

"But you gotta help us! Laureen is in danger and you're the only one who might be able to save her!"

Anchus smacked the back of Anchorus' head.

"Brother, pipe down. I'm trying to be diplomatic here."

Hearing this name, Frogo jumped up.

"Whoa, wait a sec. Who is in danger?"

Anchorus took the moment to restate his words.

"Laureen, I told you!"

This name sounded vaguely familiar to Frogo, so he took a moment to head to the back room and check his records of clients. When he returned, he was holding several documents printed on paper infused moss.

"That name sounded slightly familiar. Tell me, what do you guys know about this 'Laureen' character?"

Anchorus stood up to explain.

"Well, we were told that you were the shaman that worked with her family, and that you might have a clue as to what's happening to her now."

Trying to remain quiet, Frogo turned his head.

"What's happening to her? What do you mean, metal man?"

He explained the current situation about Laureen's horrible mutation, some of the details jogging Frogo's memories as he kept searching through his files. He let out a regretful sigh once he found the exact file he was looking for.

"Urgh, I was hoping I could just forget about this case. Jeeves, go make some tea, I see this is gonna be along night."

As he hopped off jeeves to let him prepare inside, Frogo once again focused his gaze upon the brothers.

"So I guess you want me to explain what's happening to your friend, correct?"

The brothers nodded.

"Well, if the situation is exactly as you say, then I might know the cause."

He picked up a stick with the symbol of a frog dancing on a lilypad atop it and bumped it on the ground a few times, causing a chair to float from one side of the room. It levitated to him and he sat in it, as it hovered in the air.

"First off though. I want names. Who are you and how do you relate to Laureen?"

Anchorus stood up with his brother.

"My name is Anchus."

"And my name is Anchorus. We're here because I... I can't stand to see Laureen in pain."

Anchus whispers to Frogo.

"He wants to have sex with her."

This earns Anchus an angry stare from his brother, which makes him back up.

"what? It's true, isn't it? Despite it being impossible in every way. Hell, why else would you drag me across all of Felarya just to find her when we could've stayed at the lab and had gotten our armor polished, or maybe get a nice tune up."

The two began to bicker as Frogo chuckled from his chair.

"Haha. I see. No need to get worked up. I can fathom the rest of the story. So I guess Laureen has been suffering thanks to what Endrynna did."

Almost immediately both of them stopped and asked the same question at once.

"Endrynna? Who's that?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot. Of course you wouldn't know her name. Endrynna is Laureen's mother. You know, white hair, about 120 feet tall, pissy attitude, the works."

This revelation did well to confuse Anchus.

"So her name is Endrynna? Why didn't anyone tell us? It would've saved alot of time instead of us referring to her as the Naga Elder, or 'that crazy snake beast'."

Frogo's chair floated up and approached Anchorus' face, with Frogo sitting in it wearing a serious expression.

"That woman... she was not a nice lady. She was bigoted, snoopy, and close minded on just about everything, always clammoring on about her tribe being superior thanks to her leadership. This became such an issue that she ordered that nobody in her tribe speak her true name, since she didn't want 'commoners' using their dirty tongues to speak her name. So it's no surprise she kept it from you and even her daughter."

This made sense to Anchorus, but once again Anchus had to point something out.

"There's a little hole in your logic Frogoboscus. If she didn't want anyone knowing her name, how do YOU know it?"

He chuckled.

"Simple. I told her I refused to do business with her unless I knew her real name. It's a... business policy of mine, to ensure nobody tries to skip out on paying me once I fulfill my end of any transaction. I'm sure it's her real name, since she seems too prideful to make one up. She knew my magic was important to her, so she agreed."

Anchus shook his head.

"That sounds like her alright, but now I have another question. Exactly what magic do you do? Why would she need it that much?"

When asked this, Frogo lifted his staff and waved it around, conjuring up several books larger than himself.

"I specialize in support spells which enhance the powers of the user, and Endrynna travelled all the way here to use them. How else do you think she became the tribal leader?"

He waves his staff around, conjuring images of Endrynna using the support spells to empower her magic as she is shown fighting an army of harpies who descend on her all at once.

"Now, I bet you're wondering about how this relates to your little friend, Laureen, right?"

They nod in unison.

"Well, I've know about Endrynna's child for a while now. And personally, she seems like a nice kid, which is why I had a minor regret about what happened..."

Waving his staff again, he conjured up a scene where Endrynna stormed Frogo's cave and demanded something from him.

"You see, her mother wasn't just mean, but she started gathering up a debt. She didn't pay me for my support spells, and always put it off. Something about 'using funds to catch two fugitives'. So, one day, she comes in and asks that I give her one of my strongest spells so she can kill these two fugitives she's been chasing. I reckon that's you fellas by the vivid and hateful description she gave."

Everyone in the room sighed in agreement.

"Yeah, well my brother Anchus can attest that Endrynna really hates me. I don't know why."

"Well, Anchorus, it could be that you were trying to get intimate with her daughter. Being the psycho she was, of course she'd overreact."

Then Frogo cut the scene to him conjuring something up in one of his secret chambers.

"Anyhow, I tell her I'm not giving her any more of my conjurings until she pays what she owes me. But of course, she threatened me with violence and said she'd throw me down the eternal sunken chasm just outside if I didn't comply. I didn't feel like dying, so I agreed."

What came over his face then was a look of pure malice and evil intent.

"Of course, I agreed to give her my most powerful spell, but it came with some 'strings' attached. She wouldn't know until it was too late though. Heheheheh...."

Another wave of his staff revealed another vision infront of the brothers, where Endrynna had a slit in her wrist and blood drizzling from her mouth.

"What I dubbed it was the 'Cobra Naga Blood Omen'. All I had her do was drink some cobra blood while havign some injected into her blood stream. Then I perform a few rituals, and boom! The curse is now her problem. You see, when it takes affect, it makes her extremely powerful and increases her magic resistance and brute strength ten times over! However, in exchange, she loses her sanity and thinking capability and turns into a bloodthirsty monster, which would make her the perfect target for smarter enemies who could take advantage of her stupidity."

Finally, he waved away the visions and sat down in his chair, which floated to the ground. Meanwhile, Jeeves the golem came in, holding a large cauldron of freshly brewed tea.

"That will teach that debt holding scaly slut to pull a fast one on me. And because of her, I enlisted the service of my new Golem, Jeeves, to make sure nobody would pull that threat again. So now, Endrynna will be forever cursed as a Cobra blood naga, and I will enjoy the day she dies."

Anchus actually joined in on his chuckling, declining the offer of tea for obvious reasons.

"Hahah. Are you serious, Frogo? That was an excellent move on your part. It will teach that witch some respect."

As Anchorus declined tea as well, something came up in his mind.

"Wait, when did she get this 'curse'?"

Frogo took some tea and sipped it slowly, pondering the question in deep thought.

"I believe it was a year ago precisely, though my mind is sketchy on the details."

Anchorus nodded.

"Well, isn't that before we fought her beside that other robot? Why didn't she become a cobra naga then?"

The frog mage stood up as he finished his first cup of tea.

"Well, she has to be in a bloodthirsty state of mind, which I'm sure would be easy enough to accomplish if she hated you two that badly. That, or be incapacitated."

Upon hearing this, Anchorus flashed back to when Endrynna was about to kill Anchorus. She had a hateful look in her eyes, and her spear ready to strike. What followed was the sound of a gun, which shot her in the back and sent her to the ground. By missing her heart, it only knocked her out from the shock and pain, but would be enough to incapacitate, as Frogo said.

"I see. So because of Anchodamus.... we never saw her cobra form..."

A wandering fly caught Frogo's attention, causing him to catch it with his tongue and return to his mouth, chewing on it while chewing the facts over.

"Yeah, whoever that Damus guy is, if he did something to knock her out, the cobra curse wouldn't empower her. Rather ingenius way to mock her if I do say so myself. Regardless, if she's still alive, the curse will give her alot of power over you if her blood boils at a high enough rate."

This sent a chill up their backs. Anchorus tried not to be phased, but he still felt an inkling of fear.

"But wait, I have one more question. If it was a curse on Endrynna, then why is Laureen undergoing it."

Frogo then sighed, giving them a rather regretful expression.

"Well, that's the bad part of the curse.... come deeper into my chambers. I'll explain there...."

Mhh the plot thickhens
I loved your description of the pit and of that crazy shaman. And you have a thing for always ending your chapters with horrible cliffhangers XD

Well, what better way to make the next chapter all the better?

Speaking of which, I've been on a roll lately. Whoever got rid of that pesky writer's block, I have to send them some flowers.

Anyway, enjoy this next chapter.

________________


ch: 14

Frogo lept atop Jeeves who walked into the back room, which was a visual cue for the brothers to get up and follow him. On the way, the Frog mage explained the story.

"As much as I didn't want the side effect to occur, i'm afraid it appears to be happening anyway. You see, when one's blood is tainted by the cobra blood omen, it befalls their entire blood lineage, infecting, cursing and affecting everyone who shares their blood. I didn't feel bad about using the curse until I remembered that it would affect Laureen too. Unfortunately, the curse gains its power from the victim's rage, and since Laureen doesn't have enough of it, the change will likely occur against her will, instilling blood lust in her, tearing her from the inside and making her mentally unstable, prone to mood swings so that she's forced to succumb to the omen's desire to kill..."

Frogo took another sip of his tea, but couldn't finish what was left.

"I'm sorry for inflicting this upon her, I truly am, but you know what? I reason it's a good trade off. Let her mother suffer for thinking she can push me around like I'm some sort of charity magic shop. I won't mourn her when she dies. Even if Laureen is caught in the process, she won't suffer nearly as much as that old hag."

Anchorus then jumped up and approached Frogo.

"Wait a minute! You're not even sorry Laureen is cursed?! She's suffering because of you, and you don't even care?!"

Anchorus balled his fists in anger, appearing angry enough to make Jeeves go into a defensive position to protect his master. Frogo however calmed his golem down.

"Relax big fella. It's not that I don't feel bad, but really, what can I do to resolve it? The curse is irreversible, and both Laureen and her mother will live out their lives with it in their systems."

Hearing this only made Anchorus even more angry, as he grit his mechanically set teeth. As he was about to throw a punch, Frogo took a deep breath.

"Hold up already! I know you're mad, which is why I'm willing to help you."

"How can you help us? You said the curse was irreversible!"

He let out a laugh.

"Yes, but there are ways to partially quell the curse and dampen its effects temporarily. I kept it from Endrynna so she would not learn how to control it, but if it's to help Laureen, then I will tell you how to remedy it."

Even though it was not the best solution, Anchorus lowered his fist and decided to hear the doctor out, which brought relief to Anchus, who did not wish to get into a fight at this moment. He had seen plenty of it already, glad to lay back upon his brothers shoulder while Frogo summoned a book from his archive and read through it with lightning speed. He stopped dead in the center of the book, turning it towards the brothers who zoomed in to see it.

"Alright, now, this little concoction should allow Laureen to retain her sanity during her... 'mutations', but I am missing a key ingredient which brings the whole thing together. If you boys can find it for me, I'll make it for you for no charge."

Anchus read over the ingredients very carefully, trying to make sense of the wording.

"hmm.... eye of newt... leg of newt... heart of newt, tongue of newt.... why the hell does this potion use so much newt?"

Frogo shrugged.

"Beats me, but it saves me on supplies when I can just buy the whole newt. Anyway, the item near the bottom of the list is the one I'm missing."

Anchus took another look.

"....Buttcheek of newt?"

"No, moron. down one more."

Anchus looked down as directed.

"Credit Card of Newt? How do you even..."

Frogo facepalmed once more and just pointed to the ingredient he referred to.

"It's this one you dummy! The ingredient called 'Crimson Weed' is what I'm missing."

To this Anchus nodded.

"Oh. Where do you find this 'Crimson Weed'?"

To facilitate an answer to this question, Frogo pulled out another one of his maps and pointed to the northern end of the Felaryan Continent. He pointed to a particularly red patch of area.

"In the Jungle of Perils."

When they checked the map, Anchus' jaw almost unhinged.

"Are you kidding?! That's half way across Felarya! We'll never get there before something bad happens to Laureen which will doom me to hearing my brother's lamentations every day!"

Frogo expected this, and opened up a patch of moss on the side of the room, revealing a secret tunnel.

"I had a feeling you'd say that, so I might have something that can help you. Jeeves!"

Jeeves carried Frogo through the corridor, once again leading the Anchor Brothers out of the cave. At the end of the cave was a very large ladder which seemed sturdy enough for Jeeves to climb, and was constructed out of massive deposits of moss.

"Come on boys. Climb up. This is the only way out of Sunken Forest which I'd suggest, unless you wanna take your chances outside. hehe."

Anchorus shook his head and climbed with him, Anchus holding on as the light from above shone through. It was a long climb, but bearing the sight of the golem's lower butt, the brothers finally reached the surface of the sunken forest along with Frogo and Jeeves. He then lead them to a large patch of grass and vines which he had Jeeves rip off. Underneath was a crude medieval device which seemed like it hadn't been in use for ages, but oddly, next to it was a "for sale" sign.

"Alright. Now, this thing won't be able to take you all the way, but I guarantee it wll jumpstart you in the right direction. Now, get into that spherical area there."

Anchorus did as instructed and jumped in, being sure to sit securely with Anchus holding on.

"Say, Frogo, me and Anchus were wondering... just what is this thing?"

He brought out his staff and ordered Jeeves to stand behind the contraption.

"It's a device I found once when there was a warring tribe of predators that used to live around here. I held onto it because it looked like it had some good resale value. I also enhanced it with a spell here and there so it's strong enough to throw even the fattest of the predators like meteors. It would certainly make me alot of skevols, if you know what I mean."

The brothers nodded, but Anchus was still not amused.

"That's all good, but what is it actually called? I ask simply because this seems really familiar in design."

As Jeeves began cranking a winch, Frogo chanted to bring the contraption to life.

"Well, I call it a Velocity Inducing Air Throwenator, but the predators called it a 'cata-pult'."

Both Anchus and Anchorus's eyes grew wide.

"WHAT?!"

Before they could question it Frogo ordered JEeves to release the winch, which sent the cup part of the catapult flying, and thanks to the magical enhancements, it sped upward at light speed and threw Anchus and Anchorus far into the air like they were nothing. Anchus had one last moment to scream to Frogo as they soared away.

"DAMN YOU, YOU CRAZY ORGANIC!!"

Frogo laughed out loudly and responded back.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!! And be sure to come back when you have the Weed!"

As the two robots were sent soaring North by North West, Jeeves covered up the machine again in moss. Frogo took a sigh of relief and sat down on his golem butler.

"Let's hope they don't get torn to shreds. And in the unfortunate event they do, oh well. Back to our dwelling Jeeves! I have some unfinished tea and flies to enjoy."

Back to their home in the Sunken Forests the golem departed, with nary a lapse in time. Frogo did not know if the brothers would return from the Jungle of Perils, but regardless, he gathered all of the newt parts in the unlikely event they did return.....

Lol, nice take that at the constant use of Eye of Newt for potions. XD

Thanks. I'm trying to take the story in a funnier direction.

Hehe nice chapter ^_^ and ok that confirm what I was suspecting : Frogo is totally nuts XD

¿Dónde está el siguiente capítulo? Aquí está, que los pacientes lectores.

Spoiler:

_________

ch.15

The Magic Catapult which Frogo had utilized certainly lived up to the hype given to it. Anchus and his brother were lobbed skyward at an unfathomable speed, heading North by Northwest towards the blood hued forest. Below them Anchus could notice the various locales passing by almost instantaneously. They noticed the Mycoria Forest passing by, spores and all, before going right over the Great Marshes. They could just barely see the tiny visage of the Gorudan who had hustled them earlier, still nursing its injured tongue. Higher they went thanks to their velocity, which sent them soaring right above the Soral Swamps, where they could behold the various land masses floating above the unwelcoming sludge and water which pervaded it. Thankfully the angry mermaid they had encountered was not in sight, a welcome relief from their normal bad fortune. As fast as they saw it coming, the Swamps went just as well, and the brothers soon found themselves over unfamiliar rocky terrain. In the distance underneath their flight path they could barely make out a crudely made camp, which looked very uninviting, but still garnered a good amount of protection all around it. What Anchus and Anchorus did not know was that this particular base belonged to the technologically savvy Miratans, and as they passed, the brothers could note several of the humans looking at them. Some stared in disbelief, while others expressed that they had seen weirder. Thanks to a good stroke of luck, the brothers had just been out of range, not warranting the attention of the entire base, and off they went past the Miratans. When they cleared the rocky terrain of the Frosty Peaks, Anchus shook his head and turned down.

"Urgh. This is starting to get nauseating. I don't think we were built for flying Anchorus."

Anchorus took out his map while they zoomed past a flock of migrating harpies and looked downward as well.

"Actually, Anchus. I think your nausea is because of that down there!"

When Anchus took a closer look, he found that they were soaring above the Miragia Forest, which had a dimensional instability that had interfered with both Anchus and Anchorus' guidance systems, thus inducing robotic nausea. Anchus clung to his brother as said effects took effect.

"Urgh. Let's hope nothing stops us over this forest. I'd hate to be stuck here."

The droids were too distracted looking down to notice that, among the flock of harpies they had passed, one was right in their flight path! The confused harpy woman, unable to avoid in time, tried to warn them, but to no avail.

"HEY! LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU PISSASSES! YOU'RE ABOUT T-"

BAM! Anchus and Anchorus were too late in noticing the harpy and slammed into her, the three of them spiraling down into the Miragia Forests below. There was a noisy interlude to their fall as they tumbled through the canopy, then through several well placed branches. All throughout the fall, the harpy was swearing like a sailor who had stubbed their toe, all the way down until they slammed into the floor of the forest. Anchus had barely held on, almost being crushed by his brother and not to mention all the debris that collapsed onto them. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts together, before getting up and poking Anchorus in the head.

"Brother? Did you survive that fall?"

Anchorus turned his head to his petite sibling and shook his head.

"I think so. Unless this is Robo Heaven, in which case it really didn't fit my expectations..."

This sounded like the inane ramblings of a human, to which Anchus responded by smacking some sense into him.

"Get a hold of yourself brother! We need to move quickly! This Miragia region does not sit well with me."

As soon as Anchorus cleared off all the debris from his body, he took to his feet, albeit slowly, and looked around. When he turned his head, the claws of an angry harpy scratched his face, leaving semi-deep marks in his synthetic skin. The harpy then pouted before leaving, uttering something under her breath.

"Pricks. Watch where you assholes are flying next time."

She then took to the skies, screaming multiple obscenities about Anchorus and sneaking in one last comment about his mother being a whore before flying off. Thankfully, it appeared as though those claw marks were all the damage the brothers had sustained from the fall, save for a few out of place cogs and some circuits where they shouldn't be. The brothers were still able to move on, and as Anchus got atop Anchorus, they carved a path out of their predicament and ventured on foot through the Miragia Forest. Anchus was the first to notice the instability of this land.

"Hmm... this forest is odd... it differs greatly from all the other areas of the Felaryan Jungle.... I didn't think it had THIS look to it...there are trees jutting out of other trees, random objects are upside down, and- LOOK OUT ANCHORUS!"

Anchorus froze in his tracks, beholding the white light which encased the ground just ahead of them. in an instant, said patch of ground vanished from sight, leaving a large crater where it once was. Anchorus breathed a sigh of relief.

"I... uh... guess that's what they mean by 'dimensionally unstable.'"

Despite his joking facade, Anchus was on edge by this turn of events and remained so.

"This is no time for jokes Anchorus. That could've been us! And who knows where that patch of ground was sent. You have to be careful, damnit! Now proceed due North, and watch your step brother."

In another instant, the ground right behind Anchorus glew with a white glow and vanished in an instant, as did a mighty tree which was perched upon that land. The instability was confusing and scaring both the brothers, and made them take off at breakneck speed, trying hard not to be caught in one of these portals. During their stride, Anchus held on while looking around, trying to scope out the area. The land was torn asunder by the unstable mishaps of the environment, bearing the marks of craters, trees literally teleported in half, not to mention the odd colored sky which seemed to pervade the forest every time a portal reared it's head, promising cake, but only producing lies. As he looked up, he could see humans falling down from the skies, and as if in a revelation, he figured that they had been brought to Felarya much the same way he and Anchorus had been, though this did not garner his sympathy, for he knew they were human, and thus didn't care for their safety. He chortled watching them fall as a matter of fact, leaving Anchorus bewildered by his brother's odd behavior.

"Anchus? Are you okay? You're randomly laughing to yourself... and you're kinda scaring me."

His brother replied in a non challante attitude.

"Worry not Anchorus. Though we have been experiencing bad fortune, at every turn I remember the sight of unsuspecting humans falling into a world which vies to consume and kill them. It... makes my gears feel all warm and lubricated. Barring the bad crap that's occured to us, this world isn't too bad. And admittedly, this time traveling with you has made me realize you're not as useless as I once thought. You're... a decent cog in this partnership."

Hearing this brought Anchorus into a good mood.

"Thank you Anchus. That means alot coming from you."

Indeed, both droids took this perfect time to bond, all while continuing to run through the porten laden forest. What the two saw ahead was an astounding sight, for they happened to stumble upon a large tree, and as they passed by, they noticed hundreds upon hundreds of birds flying from it's perches. They were astounded so many could live in one tree, until they passed the large oak, when Anchus turned back and noticed that most of the birds suddenly dissipated into thin air. Anchus immediately went into his holo cube library, searching up these mysterious sightings.

"Hmm.... according to this log entry, those appear to be Mirror Birds. They can create illusions of themselves when they feel threatened. That would explain why so many were in a single tree... impressive."

Anchorus quickly stopped in his tracks, looking ahead.

"Um... Anchus, we have a problem...."

Up ahead, Anchus looked and saw that a good chunk of the forest was missing, making in the ground a deep crater, and holding no feasible way to cross. Anchus thought of a solution quick to counter this.

"This is obviously a no brainer Anchorus. We just have to wait until something warps in that allows us to cross. Maybe a giant tree. Let's try to find a way around in the meantime."

Anchorus took his brothers advice and held off on running North until a convenient object would warp in to help them cross the gap. Still they were careful to not stay in one place, lest a portal randomly warp them. Just then, Anchorus noticed a Gecko on the ground, around 30 feet tall. It was simply standing infront of Anchorus, not doing a thing but standing on it's hind legs. Anchorus poked the lizard, yet it continued to do nothing.

"Hey Anchus, take a look at this little fella. I think he's dead."

Obviously Anchus did not show much interest until he heard the creature might be dead. He looked down to see the lizard, only to see that there were now two of them.

"Little fella? Don't you mean fellas?"

Seeing as Anchorus had taken his eyes off the lizard to inform his brother, he looked back down, but this time he saw three!

"I... I don't know Anchus! I could've sworn I only saw one!"

Anchus stepped down and took a good look at the petrified lizards.

"I bet they're illusions, like those birds."

He was instantly proven wrong when he touched the creature and felt solid material.

"... oh... So it isn't an illusion... what is it then?"

Anchus turned to get back on Anchorus' shoulder, when he noticed the odd lizards surrounding them completely. Some moved, but with little intelligence behind their actions. Others simply glared, their surprisingly shiny eyes acting as a beacon of instilling fear. Both the brothers were a little creeped out.

"Careful Anchorus... this looks too much like a-"

Cut off mid sentence, Anchus was suddenly grabbed by a tongue seemingly out of nowhere, catching Anchus by surprise.

"Oh what the hell?! Why me?!"

Anchorus saw the tongue before his brother did and grabbed him right as the tongue grabbed him, refusing to let go. Now it was a tug of war between Anchorus and the mysterous salivating apparatus, and soon the end of it was revealed to belong to another lizard, which looked just like the petrified and idiot lizards, except much more lively. The creature had surprising strength in it's tongue, being able to yank Anchus further and further to him, but Anchus held his own and planted his feet firm into the ground, yanking Anchus back. with a free hand, Anchorus grabbed for the holo cube and looked through it.

"Brother! I think I found out what this thing is!"

As Anchus struggled against his slimy oppressor, there wasn't much he could say.

"Well, don't just stand there! Read it!"

"It says this thing is akin to a 'Duplicator Gecko' or something. It can create solid copies of itself to confuse prey. And it... stays between dimensions?"

Anchus continued fighting his confines, not above biting the tongue with his metal teeth.

"Then get me out of here! If it goes into another dimension, I'll be dead metal!"

His brother did as told and yanked at the tongue, and was appearing to win. The Dupli Gecko was about to pull back, trying to drag Anchus into his little dimension, when a portal opened from the sky and massive chunks of rock fell downward. Most of the rocks filled the gap from before, while one flew apart from the others and flattened the Gecko's tongue. This gave Anchus and Anchorus enough time to get away from it's sticky appendage and retreat North, using the rocks as a make shift bridge. The gecko tried to follow, but was too late to try and snatch Anchus due to the rock pinning it. It decided to let the meal go, instead opting to try and aid its crushed tongue. Anchus again wiped the saliva off of himself.

"Alright, I'm really getting tired of that. When we get back to Al's laboratory, I'm commissioning him to make me a bigger chassis. This is ridiculous."

"I know Anchus, but don't worry. We're almost to the Jungle of perils. We should be exiting the forest anytime."

Thankfully, he was correct in that there wasn't much more of the Miragia region impeding Anchus and Anchorus, and soon they would find themselves at its edge. Sadly they did not see the Jungle of Perils. No, they saw yet another obstacle which awaited them outside the unstable forest, an obstacle they had underestimated on the map.

The sight of a gigantic river which loomed for miles across....

Incoming Mermaid? This chapter was hilarious. Can those two get any worse luck? XD

that was a funny chapter
I loved how they flew into that harpy XD
And wow for some reasons lot of predators who attack them seem to sustain tongue dammages

Short chapter this time. Enjoy.
_______

Ch.16

"How long is this going to take? Geez, that woman takes forever to get up."

These words escaped the mouth of the ever-impatient Gisor, as he perched within the human facility waiting for the Naga Elder to awaken. Anchodamus, floating in a repair tube, turned his working optics towards Gisor.

"Patience Gisor. You must remember that this one has suffered extensive damage, and unlike a machine such as myself, she is harder to repair. However, she should waken soon."

The eyes of the serpentine woman shuttered open as these words were spoken, and she took a good, solid look around. She noticed she was in a large metallic dome, surrounded by humans with particularly sharp implements which were the surgical tools that fixed her up. Without wasting a moment, she slid her tail across the room, knocking away several humans near her. She got to her feet, or in this case tail, and assumed a defensive stance, trying to understand what was happening.

"W-where am I?! And why are there so many humans around here?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

She turned to the tube where the remains of Anchodamus harmlessly floated in suspension, then turned to the harpy, who was too busy ogling her features to look threatening. Anchodamus quickly took the opportunity to calm her down.

"Elder! Please, calm yourself. You are in no danger. You've just been in... erm... a 'coma', so to speak."

The naga did not get out of her stance, but tensed up slightly.

"Really now? What has happened? How long have I been in a coma? And who's that jackass looking over me like I'm eye candy?"

The tube bound Droid chuckled heartily.

"Well, the truth is you've been out of it for a year, and your tribe has gone to pieces. They've actually been considering electing someone else to lead them. Along with that, your body has suffered very severe burns and multiple fractures in your bones. It took you a long time to recover, but thankfully I had stumbled upon a few humans who were glad to take you in."

She then turned to the humans who were staring up at her, some keeping weapons ready out of fear. Her face turned red.

"Wait.. are you telling me these HUMANS TOUCHED ME?! WHILE I WAS UNCONSCIOUS?!"

As her fists balled up in anger and her eyes turned to scorching suns, seeing the humans as nothing but perverted garbage, Ancho once again attempted to calm her temper.

"Now, calm down woman. I was monitoring their entire procedure, and rest assured they did nothing that you would disapprove of. Now please, do not get so worked up. Your body might've suffered atrophy over this year of inactivity and you'll wear yourself out too fast with these actions."

The elder could feel said fatigue and coiled onto the floor, relaxing her tail muscles.

"Alright... Alright, I guess that part is true... but you! You're... Anchodamus, aren't you? That metal golem I met ages ago? What happened to you?!"

Ancho tried lifting up one of his severed machine arms to convey his story, but to no avail. It barely stood connected to him thanks to three or so durable wires.

"Well, if you remember your last encounter, it was... those two that did this to me."

A haziness pervaded the naga elder's mind, and she couldn't shake it.

"Those two? Who are you referring to?"

"Anchus and Anchorus. Surely you remember them, don't you?"

After a brief moment, it came to her.

"OH! Those two metal bastards who tried taking my daughter. Now I remember them. Those demons...."

Again she took a glance at Anchodamus and shuttered.

"They must be powerful to have done that to you. But there is something that bugs me. I could've handled them... and yet something... disabled me. Like a sharp pain right to my spine...."

Not wanting to bring up the incident due to it being Ancho's fault, he tried to steer the conversation differently.

"Er, i'm sure they must've had reinforcements or something. Regardless, you have another chance at them. We all do infact, and that is why this harpy is here."

Gisor gave a grin to the elder and winked, feeling fit to introduce himself.

"The name is Gisor. And I have run across these brothers before. They are disgusting abominations who have ruined my life, and I am willing to do anything to get them out of the way."

For the first time in a long while, a smile appeared on the elder's face.

"A fellow being who also shares my hate of those two? I guess this isn't such a bad thing after all. Despite the human filth on me and almost dying and all."

As the three settled, Anchodamus took some time to speak with a few of the humans, before returning to the elder and Gisor.

"Ah. And you'll both be happy to this: it appears as though a few of the humans have spotted a large flying object in the air. It's traveling ludicrously fast and appears to be darting in the direction of the Jungle of Perils."

A small image was thrown up onto a widescreen, depicting Anchus and Anchorus being hurled out of the catapult and sent through the air.

"It is those cursed brothers of mine, Anchus and Anchorus, alright. And, despite their odd new ability to fly, you must admit this is spectacular timing, don't you agree? If you two hurry, you might be able to exact your vengeance on them."

Gisor saw the image and tried to make sense of it.

"Oh, they're taking a flight path similar to one I always travel. I might be able to catch up to them!"

His claws jutted out of his wings and a devilish grin showed on his face, as the naga elder approached him.

"I'm going as well. I want to ensure they are ripped piece to piece. Even if it means working with someone not of my species, it will be worth it."

Anchodamus nodded and saw things were working out perfectly.

"Excellent. With you two working in cognito, I'm assured of their destruction. Now I suggest you get going lest you miss them."

Both Gisor and the elder got directions out of the human base, albeit hesitantly from the humans due to the predatorial gap in trust, and soon enough departed for the exit. AS they took towards the opening of the base, a little time passed before Gisor turned to the naga.

"I know this sounds kinda weird, but what is your name exactly? I never got around to asking it. Certainly someone who hates Anchus and Anchorus as much as me can't be all bad."

Hearing this, the elder slithered close to Gisor and whispered to him.

"You may refer to me as 'Endrynna'."

The both of them then took off out of the base.

"Really now Endrynna? It's odd that I never heard your name even once inside that human encampment."

Endrynna shrugged.

"I'll be honest with you. I cannot trust my name with that Ancho creature from before. He is after all a metal golem, much like those two abominations. Not to mention he has not given me too much of a reason to trust him, even if he hates those two as well. But, since you are flesh and blood like me, I can trust you better."

Gisor smiled and took to the skies.

"I like hearing that, and maybe when these brothers are destroyed, we can hook up later. You're pretty fine for a naga."

She turned her head and took to her old den to pick up some equipment, on the way giving a cold shoulder to Gisor.

"Don't push it featherbrain. I never said I liked you in general. Just meet up near the Jungle of Perils ready to kill."

The two predators took their seperate paths, both knowing their end destination would hopefully bring them closer to killing Anchus and Anchorus....

I can feel the love between those two XD